Sunday, 22 March 2015

I'm excited to announce that I've recently become an ambassador for Froothie so today I'd like to share a review of my new favourite kitchen toy - the Optimum 9200A Next Generation Blender! I'm a self-confessed smoothie addict and the one piece of kitchen equipment I couldn't be without is definitely my blender; until a few weeks ago, however, I was still using a regular (and very cheap) one which worked fairly well when it came to smoothies but unfortunately didn't do much else, so when I was given the opportunity to test out the Optimum 9200A I jumped at the chance!

The Optimum 9200A is a high-speed blender which creates delicious fruit smoothies with ease, but it doesn't stop there; I've made green smoothies and banana ice cream in it, and this blender has managed it all perfectly. My previous blender didn't cope with frozen ingredients and tougher greens very well, so I'd usually end up with annoying lumps of frozen fruit or unpleasant bits of kale in my smoothies; the Optimum 9200A, however, has no difficulty with those things at all so I end up with ultra smooth drinks every time. That's not all it does though - it also has the ability to grind nuts and grains for flour, crush ice and make nut butters, hot soups, spreads and dips! Not only does it power through most cooking/food preparation tasks, it also has a heat-resistant, BPA-free 2L jug so you can easily make bigger smoothie and soup portions, plus it comes with a tamper for pushing down stubborn ingredients.

Before discovering this blender I'd been toying with the idea of buying a Vitamix for a few months (well, a year actually!) but the Optimum 9200A actually rivals the Vitamix Pro 500 in terms of performance. This comparison chart was taken from the product page:

As you can see, it's a pretty impressive machine! The Optimum 9200A Next Generation is also much cheaper at a special price of £379 (the usual price is £429), as opposed to the £599 you'd have to shell out for a Vitamix Pro 500. It's still a lot of money but if you're like me and use your blender almost every day it's definitely a worthwhile investment. Plus it's so much more than just a smoothie-maker so I wholeheartedly believe it's worth every penny!

It's also incredibly simple to use and clean; there are 7 options you can choose from when you use the blender - you can either use the pulse function, pick an amount of time for it to blend on (20, 30 or 45 seconds) or select a motor speed instead (slow, medium or fast). To clean the jug you simply rinse it out then fill it halfway with warm water, add a squirt of washing up liquid and blend on 'fast' for 20 - 30 seconds (or more if you've been making thicker things like nut butter in it). Then just rinse out the bubbles and you're done! It's quick and easy so it's perfect when you don't have a lot of time in the mornings. The whole process of making a smoothie and cleaning the blender takes less than 5 minutes so there's no excuse to not make yourself a delicious and nutritious meal or snack!

As well as creating fabulous blenders and juicers, Froothie also have excellent customer service - once you've ordered your blender you can expect it at your door within 24 - 48 hours (if you live in the UK) for only £14.95 (usually £19). There's also a 30 day guarantee which includes delivery costs so if you aren't happy with your purchase you can return it without hassle and at no cost to you. The Optimum 9200A also comes with a 6-year warranty plus a raw vegan recipe book to get you started on your journey to a healthier lifestyle.

You can buy the Optimum 9200A Next Generation Blender here and view Froothie's other products here - if you're looking for a new blender which can handle almost anything you can throw at it then I thoroughly recommend this one!

To celebrate my new blender I've created a delicious choco-cherry smoothie recipe for you; this is currently my favourite smoothie and it tastes like dessert but is incredibly nutritious. I've been drinking it almost every single day recently!

Choco-Cherry Smoothie

Ingredients

Serves 1

1 medium/large banana (or 2 small)

1/2 cup frozen cherries

2 tbsp raw cacao powder

1 cup non-dairy milk (I usually use unsweetened almond milk)

1/2 cup water (or more milk if you wish)

Method

Add all the ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth - if you have an Optimum 9200A blender then blend on 'fast' mode for 10 - 20 seconds. If you want the smoothie to be thicker then omit the extra water/milk - if you want a thinner consistency then just add more liquid. Enjoy!

Note: I was sent this product to review and all opinions expressed are my own.

It sounds like you are really loving your all-singing and all-caning Froothie super blender. I have the 9400 (and the new 9200 one I use at work with cancer patients) and can't see how I did without it. I already was very good on the ol fruit and veg but I think this fun beast of a machine has taken it to another level. Same with my family. Great review and lovely recipe too. Enjoy playing with it!